A bit of art….

Today we started the day off with eggy bread which really set us up for the day.

Reading about Japan and safety, I had read quite a few posts like this one.
Lost something in Japan? You’re in luck — chances are good that you’ll get it back. Countless travelers in Japan have reported being reunited with lost valuables, including wallets with all the cash intact. You can attribute this to the overall honesty of people in Japan as well as efficient tracking systems for lost property.

So today on the way to Hakone Open Air museum we decided to pop back to the onsen theme park as we were passing it, to try to find the elusive bra. Popped in and had to try to explain it all again, ferried round the place to explain to people with increasing levels of English. I saw the tracking system at first hand, the log books etc but drew a blank.

On a side note, the previous day Pete had left his shoes where we were staying and when we came back 12 hours later his shoes were still there!

So braless we continued to the Open Air Museum. It’s a bit of a misnomer as it is full of sculptures and artworks. The first hall had art you could interact with which Pete readily complied with.

Then one of the curators took one of us together.

Upstairs there was an artist in residence called Yoshiaki Kaihatsu. This is what he says about himself:
I am primarily interested in social services projects. Following the belief that works of art do not necessarily have to be objects, I am working on projects that incorporate direct communication with people. However, as viewers often experience problems in identifying such intangible projects with artworks, in my attempt to find new ways of expression, I conceive my works as tools, which can be immediately recognised as art by any viewer.
My work is thus engaged in providing social services, which may lead to a form of art activism. I believe that this approach favours the emergence of an advanced form of insubstantial art, echoing the forging of a new mentality and social change in the near future

His project here is linked to Picasso. He explained to us that Picasso produced 80,000 pieces of art in his life time. Kaihatsu’s premise is that he is trying to replicate this by creating art and letting visitors take away a piece of his artwork, which in turn they in turn are taken to their homes, photographed and emailed back to him. He had made a yurt like structure in the gallery and when he receives an email he prints the picture off and displays it in the yurt.

So we picked a piece of art, took his card with details and will email him when we get home. So a bit of Sheffield will be there!

The grounds were beautiful, with sculptures dotted around.

As it is in a region of hot springs there was a ubiquitous foot spa, which was great because the humidity here is relentless and being able to relax for a moment is very much needed.

They have a permanent Picasso exhibition, but you couldn’t take photos.. There were some beautiful pieces, especially of his ceramics. Picasso didn’t start doing ceramics until he was 60, but as with all his art he was very prodigious in this as well. There were also 16 portraits of his second wife Jacqueline, each one slightly different. In his lifetime he kept the last one and did not make it public. Here there were all housed together in a line, showing his method in reaching what he thought was perfection.

In between some of the outside exhibits was pond filled with huge koi carp. You could feed them, despite visitor after visitor feeding them, each time the food came out there was a tangible frenzy. I fed them too and they seemed as though they could jump out of the water to chomp on a bit of pellet. They say that some koi can fetch thousands, looking at the size and quantity in the pond there was at least 1/2 a million worth!

Leaving the museum took us to another interactive area, which gave Pete a chance to be a moving sculpture.

We took to the road heading north west. The route took us quite a circuitous way so it was a bit of shock turning down a road and finally seeing…. Mount Fuji.

Not the best of photographs but in real time it was much clearer, it was quite breathtaking but also such a surprise as actually getting to see it without mist and cloud encompassing it, is quite an elusive thing. Pete was really excited!

Carrying on our journey we found a lovely michi to stay at, by the foothills of another range of mountains with its own supply of ‘famous’ mountain water.

We took a lot away with us!

We knew Japan was going to be expensive so we decided to try to cut costs as much as possible by cooking etc. We have been trying Japanese food on the way, sampling three different kinds of mochi. Mochi are delicious rice cakes, the rice is pounder into paste and moulded and then filled with different centres. But on the whole we are trying to cook our main meals.

Arriving at the michi I quickly began to cook a meal by the edge of the stream. It really was lovely! We garnered the attention of an old Japanese man who was really interested to know what I was cooking. I felt like Keith Floyd when he used to do those far flung cookery programmes in bizarre places. We don’t speak Japanese and he didn’t speak English, so the gist of the conversation was gleaned from hand gestures etc.

Initially we thought he wanted some food so we offered him a bowl. No… He wanted to know what was in it, so I explained aubergine, pepper etc. He then brought out a huge shopping bag full of cucumbers which are called kyuri in Japanese, we know this as he kept saying it. Then he held his hand out, thinking he wanted money but rather he wanted a little taste of the food. Again we offered a bowl but he was adamant he wanted this boiling hot food in his hand. Tasting it he smiled, thumbs up and then walked away leaving us with about 20 cucumbers.

That night we fell asleep to the tune od Auld Lang Syne from a shop, not the first time we have heard it play here.